1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to electronic equipment cooling and, more particularly, to using a cooling manifold to distribute chilled air, which is drawn into the electronic equipment.
2. Description of the Related Art
The cooling of electronic equipment is an emerging problem in the electronics industry. This may be especially true of high performance computer processing equipment such as servers, for example. The cooling problem may be exacerbated when the computer equipment is rack-mounted within an enclosure. It is not uncommon to have thermal loads in the 10–20 kW range with even higher loads projected for future systems.
One current equipment cooling approach employs the use of exhaust fans mounted to either the top or the back of an enclosure. The fans exhaust the warmed air out of the enclosure. However, mismatches between the fan and rack arrangements may produce inefficient cooling. Another current cooling approach employs a conventional compressor/condenser type air conditioning unit that is mounted directly on top of or adjacent to the enclosure. The air conditioning unit provides chilled air that may be drawn into the enclosure. However, to meet the cooling needs of high-performance equipment, a large capacity air conditioning unit may be necessary. Such units are expensive, bulky and may require frequent maintenance. In addition, large air plenums may be needed to direct the chilled air from the air conditioning unit into the enclosure.